fixed impressions

Well, I survived the walking pneumonia, but I’m so far behind on everything…3 web design projects, the FIX tuner, and many other things are on the back burner until my job transition (promotion) is complete. Bear with me a few weeks.

Over and Out.

G

Well, I’m not in any shape to ride today, but the sun is (partially) out and riding is coming back. We were off to a great start this season, with a rather dry-ish April. Well, mother nature forgot about her “April showers bring May flowers….” and she replaced it with “May showers bring June (mosquitos?)…”

I’ve started to build the actual fixedimpressions.com site. There is now a crude page up there, and I’ll be creating a gallery of fixed gear trail bikes, kind of like Fixed Gear Gallery but only for trail ready bikes. Feel free to send pics and details of your trail fix by email and I’ll put your bike up on fixedimpressions.com. For now at least, it’s totally free to you. Remember to send some build info, not just picts.

The only rule is that it must have a fixed gear on at least one side. And, no slicks. Trail ready knobs are required. Though it’s up to you to define what that is. I used to use 700/28c kenda knobs that were lighter than many road tires of the same size. Well, back in the day anyway. They lasted about two weeks before they turned into slicks.

Over and Outty.

G

Down with a hard head cold. Guess the 10 drenchings finally caught up with me. Got wet and cold more than a couple times while trying to get some early season miles in. Hope to be up and running shortly. Back to work tomorrow, taking my loveroot nectar (bitter) and hoping for a quick recovery.

Even though he rides a coaster, Ivan Basso is rad.

G

Need Less, Do More

OK folks, while the monsoon continues here in VT, I’m spanning the globe, seeking quality! As I sift the panoply of framebuilders committed to fighting against the grain, eschewing “progress” in Aluminum and Carbon Fiber, and staying focused on metals that ride well and last, I find fewer and fewer builders who stay the course (and stay in business.) I’ve noted that Matt Chester has essentially stopped taking orders…From the notes on his site, sounds like he’s had enough of poverty and vagueries of meeting deadlines, shipping hassles and whatnot. Sadness.

(1. There are actually quite a few small builders around the world, and I don’t mean to imply that they’re a dying breed. My point is that they don’t get the attention they deserve. 2. The above is in no way a knock on Matt. He’s been an inspiration to me for quite some time. I don’t really know why he’s doing what he’s doing, but you have to respect anyone’s right to make a change. I’ve certainly done similar.)

Well the lights are still on for the hand-crafters. Sometime last year I came across Solitude Cycles. I just really like these bikes:

Being a bit far away from the UK to make a visit, at least for now, I asked Alex of Solitude for some background info. He obliged. His writing is so good, I’m just going to insert it here and there (Alex’s writing in Italics.)

Alex, tell me how you got started with this micro-sized high quality framebuilding business?

“So where to start, I guess I have always liked tinkering with things and drawing designs. From lugging round a full steel tool box at the age of 3 (I was Mr Fix-it, but I mainly fixed things with a hammer!) to school where I loved design+technology and science. Spin forward to A-levels in engineering, chemistry and physics then an HND in Engineering (majoring in metallurgy). “

“I was really into mountainbiking by now having been riding bikes off road since I was about 5. Growing up in the Cotswolds hills in the south west of England meant I had some great trails on the door step….but I digress. The love of tinkering was there from the start so getting in to the bike trade as a mechanic then shop manager was a given. I took a small break from the bike trade and tried my hand at Engineering Project Management but all those stories about lazy British engineers are true….like herding cats in a thunderstorm “

I just love that expression…”like herding cats…” Much the same as trying to convince “average Joe” that a custom steel bike is worth the money.

1. It will fit right.
2. It will ride right. In fact, better than right.
3. If you like to ride it, the extra weight (say 1/10th stone) will be offset by your fitness (because you’ll ride more) and the sheer thrill of a bike that’s great to ride.
4. If the frame fails, it will not fail catastrophically like Aluminumb or Carbon Fiber (not fond of bonding in any form on a bike)
5. If…

Like herding cats in a thunderstorm…..

“So back in the bike trade and now a director and part-owner of a cool little shop, but after 7 years in the retail side of things had started to wear thin and I sold my shares and moved to a bike distributor and manufacturer (although it was all over seas built stuff) So 2 years there running the warranty and service department I lusted after my own business again. I spoke to my friend Lee (who ran the frame builders who rented the shop space out the back of my old bike shop!) A big customer of his had just moved production from them to overseas so he was after some more work. I proposed the idea that I could design and sell the frames if he could build them for me. So Solitude was born, Becca (my girlfriend of 10years) chose the name, Rudi Nadler kindly donated the logo and Matt, my long suffering friend in silly-long bike rides helped on the IT side.”

Now that is a fine head tube badge, designed by infamous illustrator, artist and fixer Rudi Nadler.

“By working with Lee’s 15 years experience of bike building and bringing my design and sales skills it has worked really well. I try and really focus on what the customer wants and how best to supply them the ideal bike. Each design stage probably takes 10hrs of emailing, research and drawing out ideas. After a fair bit of emailing back and forth a design evolves and can be sent off to Lee for building. Finishing is by a great company in Birmingham who do some great powder coat finishes but Lee has just bought his own powder set-up so soon it should all be in house. Lee is a pretty good painter so getting up to speed with powder should be easy and mean I can offer some really special powder finishes.”

My kind of “One-armed Bandit”

“A year on it has been a steep learning curve and I am still learning. The business side of things has been the biggest challenge but it is now pretty sorted and apart from catching up on some invoicing it is all in the hands of my accountant The interest and orders have been really good, the first full year I have done double the number of frames I predicted so I am happy from that point of view but I am pushing for a few more orders a month so it can become a “proper” part time job rather than a formal-hobby.”

This is what Fillet is all about. It looks fine, it works fine. It takes a lot of fine work. Here is the after:

Alex, what kind of bikes have you been building? What’s in the works for the future?

“The builds have been pretty much mountain bike based but I have a road fixie and a stainless-lugged audax frame in the works. My current favourite is a 700c / 29er drop-bar bike with a Phil wood EBB and a mech hanger so the customer can run a 3 or 4 speed set-up with a top-tube mounted downtube shifter (if that makes sense) It will be a great all round bike that can be used for any type of riding from road miles to touring on or off road.”

I can’t tell you how much I like Fillet Brazing. It’s difficult, expensive, and unsurpassed in its beauty when all is said and done. Think hard about the next frame. Do you want a frame that’s superlight and fast that’ll be finished in 3 to 5 years? Or are you serious about getting a frame that will fit right, work right, and ride great?

Quality. You must seek it. It does not come without a quest on your part. You can get cheap and light and fast—built in a dangerous and toxic third world assembly line factory. It will NOT be quality. Or you can join the small but outspoken movement towards timeless quality.

The choice is yours.

Consider Alex’s personal ride, you might want one similar to this:

There you have it.

Quality.

Or not.

Over and Out (into the monsoon.)

G.

Well, Vulturian is now dirty. The ride is so fine. The fork is GREAT! Tracks well, went over logs, ramps, drops, drop-ins—so sweet. Just as fast as my last frame but handles much nicer on downhills and climbs. Thrilled. The steerer is a little more relaxed, and that really makes an “older” guy like me a little more comfy. Don’t get me wrong, this bike is quick.

I posted a question last fall about the rear brake lockout and someone (thanks, I can’t remember who…please stand up and take credit!) suggested the cable hanger. The old parts bin yielded a sweet looking solution. Well, I implemented their suggestion with an Onza Chill Pill that I idiotically spent $17.95 (each, and I have two) back in ‘93 to try to save weight with a few more overpriced CNC-disposable widgets. Well, I put the chill pill on the straddle section of v-brake cable. Takes a 3mm Allen. I hope I don’t forget it.

So, it’s set above to lockout, as I was riding fixed today, but can convert to coasting with a quick twist of the Allen. I believe it might be possible to “tension” the set screw to allow for a panic-brake effect…e.g…tight enough to keep you from using it, but loose enough to allow you to “slip” the lockout in a panic….say if one or both of your feet come out of your pedals.

I can’t say how happy I am with this bike.

Vulture rules!

Oh, I got the light right so you can see the “fluted” downtube. Wade said it is a Prestige “something-or-other-Strong.” True Temper rounds out the front triangle. Chainstays are S-bend Dedeccai and seatstays are of course box-section.

Fantastic.

Rode one hard climb and haven’t had any hard riding on singlespeed yet this year. ‘Course I was extra motivated today. We rode all the local ‘hood stuff and other than the doubles, which I don’t do on fixed, I rode everything! Sick first ride.

Over and Out.

G

PS. I have to post the Solitude Profile, but hopefully you can all understand how impossible it would have been not to build and ride a fresh frame, especially cause I have today and tomorrow off this week. No more excuses.

OK, I hit it right on the first try with the star nut, hacksaw went fine, a little filing to smooth and only a minor brake adjust was required…Now in full rigid fixed dress, I present:

“the vulturian”

At the time I took this photo I’d already done some mud surfing, wiped her off, and did the shooting.

I will now get dressed for rain and get this bike VERY dirty. Cheers.

I’ll have test ride reviews tonite.

G

I got it together for just a few build pics, only to get caught with camera, tri-pod, etc…in a full-on squall.

Anyway…no harm done.

As yet, I’ve not installed the rear brake. I ran fixed for her maiden test ride and just left her that way. I’ll cut the steerer on the Vulture fork this morning and likely hook up the rear brake after I swap the forks. CK headsets make fork swapping so easy!…I just need one more V-brake so I don’t have to set up the brakes each time I switch forks. Just one more. One more thing. HA!

All fillet brazed. No idea what the tubes are. I haven’t asked. The downtube is “shaped” and has like 12 sides or something. Cool, but so far impossible to photograph with my cheapo Sony-Staples late-nite-buy dig-cam. Someday, I’ll upgrade….

Moto-routing for the rear brake…assuming I ever hook it up.

Well here have a look. I only got in two good picts before the rains came (again.)

I have a little sage-burning ritual going there too. Kind of a spiritual thing. A re-awakening of the singlespeed spirit for me. Not that I haven’t been mostly singlespeeding anyway. But now the fires are stoked. Too bad for the moment that the trails are like Brent-grade crude oil. Not so good for the monkey-grind on climbs.

It supposed to rain all this week, so it’s kind of washed out my plans for trail riding, but I’ll get some micro-shreds in on my neighborhood stuff with the new fork somehow….I’ve got the build pics out of the way and it’s the right time for getting dirty!

G

The monsoon season arrived in VT as soon as I got the new bike built, precluding any photo shoots and test riding. Suffice to say she went together with only a couple of extra trips to the LBS.

Things I forgot that sent me to the LBS:

1. Star nut for the new fork….I always forget that! $4 each…damn. I bought 2 because I usually ruin one during each install.
2. I wisely threw away the old chain when I broke V-10 last year. Of course, I forgot I’d done that.

Not bad for a build to have it all go together and only forget two things.

I did get in one 15 minute shred with pockets filled with tools. The new frame is sturdier and tracks better than the V-10. And she rides great.

We’ve taken in 2.5 inches of rain in the last 36 hours and the National Weather Service is predicting 2 more in the next 24. I’m not one to worry much about a dirty bike, even a new one, but for posterity I need at least one photo shoot before I get her dirty. It looks like it could be another day or two before the weather abates enough to permit some photos.

Took out the old geared Kona MTB for a mud-session with a friend. Nice and easy. Wet, muddy and really fun. As long as I can stay warm, I don’t mind riding in a deluge. Unlike OR, in VT it rains and the temperature doesn’t drop to 33 degrees F.

He sent me this pic back in March. A big hint.

I just asked for something cool. And I got it: